Keyboard construction for electric musical instrument



L- J. HAVILAND Aug. 6, 1963 KEYBOARD CONSTRUCTION FOR ELECTRIC MUSICALINSTRUMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 18, 1960 fINVENTOR. y

Aug. 6, 1963 J. HAVILAND KEYBOARD C0NsTRuCTI0N FoR ELECTRIC MUSICALINSTRUMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 18, 1960 United States Patent3,099,930 KEYBOARD CONSTRUCTION FOR ELECTRIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Lyman J.Haviland, Mundelein, Ill., assignor to Hammond Organ Company, Chicago,111., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 18, 1960, Ser. No. 9,623 6Claims. (Cl. 84-433) The invention relates generally to manuals orkeyboards for electrically controlled musical instruments and for otherinstruments of the accordion and miniature organ type.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an extremely simplelow cost keyboard, generally of the piano type, for use in the controlof a musical instrument such as the small electric organs, accordions,and the like.

A further object is to provide a keyboard of the. above type in whichsimple means are provided to mount the keys for pivotal movement.

A further object is to provide a keyboard which is substantiallynoiseless in operation.

Other objects will appear from the following description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the keyboard substantially alongline 11 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 2 is [a greatly enlarged sectional view taken on lines 2-2 of FIG.3;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of portions of keys and the supports shown in FIG.2; and

FIG. 4 is generally a fragmentary plan view of the keyboard with partsthereof broken away better to illustrate other parts.

In low priced musical instruments of the accordion or toy electricalorgan type, the keyboard and its mounting constitute a substantialportion of the cost of the instrument, and it is therefore highlydesirable that the keyboard be of such construction that it may bemanufactured at a minimum cost.

As shown in FIG. 1, the keyboard comprises an end support It} which maybe made of wood or other suitable low cost material, there being suchend support at each end of the keyboard. A forwardly sloping keyboardplate 12 is secured to the end supports and has a chassis sheet 14attached thereto by screws 16, front sheet 18, and screws 20. The keysupport sheet 12 is formed with a channel part 22. The electricalcomponents of the instrument may be mounted on the sheets 14 and beneaththe channel portion 22.

The keyboard comprises a plurality of black keys 24 and 'white keys 26,arranged substantially in the manner of a conventional piano or organkeyboard. These keys are preferably made of a molded plastic materialand are generally of inverted trough shape. The keys are secured to thekey plate 12 in a very simple and efiective manner.

Each of the keys has a short rearwardly extending shank 28 which, at itsupper surface, has a rectangular channel shaped depression orindentation 30 therein. The shanks 28 are pressed against a felt strip 32 which may extend the full length of the keyboard and may be cementedto the key plate 12. A strip of felt 34 has a portion pressed into theindentations 30 in the keys by a clamping member 36 which is Z-shaped incross section and has projections 38 slightly shorter than theindentations 30 in the keys to press portions of the felt 34 into theindentations 30 to locate and hold the shanks 28 against lateralmovement. These projections are formed by shearing the metal at theirends from the clamping member 36. The clamping member or strip 36 isrigidly secured to the key plate :12 by a number of screws 40.

- not be noisy,

3,099,930 Patented Aug. 6, 1963 Movement of white keys 26 in the upwarddirection is limited by upstop felt strip 42 cemented beneath the inneredge of sheet 18 while their downward movement is limited by a feltstrip 44 cemented to the upper surface of the channel portion 22.Downward movement of the black keys is limited by a perforated feltstrip 46 ccmented to the upper surface of the key plate 12. The upwardmovement of the black keys is limited by the compression of the feltstrips 32 and 34.

When used in an electrical musical instrument in which the keys mustcontrol electric circuits each of the keys, both black and white, isprovided with a tubular downwardly projecting part 48 into which acylindrical felt plug 50 is inserted, leaving a short length thereofprojecting from the tubular portion for engagement with resilientcontact finger 52 to flex the fingers downwardly against a slightlyflexible contact arm 54. The contact finger 52 operates to return thekey to its upper normal position. The contact finger 52 and contact arm54 are clamped between insulating strips 5 6 which have suitableperforations formed therein for a screw 58 which is threaded in thekeyboard plate 12. The contact finger 52 and contact arm 54 havesufiiciently large holes therein to clear the screw 58 and are furtherheld in position by a pair of small dowel pins 60 which extend throughholes formed in the insulating strips 56 and in the contact finger 52and contact arm 54. These dowels may be cemented in one of theinsulating strips 56. The contact finger 52 preferably has shortprojections 62 pressed therein for making good electrical contact withthe three switch contact elements 64- which are bent upwardly slightlyto provide good sliding contact. There are preferably three suchprojections 62 in cooperation respectively with the fingers of thetrifurcated contact arm 54- so as to make the sliding contact. Therebeing three contacts in parallel when the switch is closed the chancesof failure to close the circuit between the two switch arms, due to thepresence of foreign matter or film or oxidation, is greatly reduced.

For many instruments the trifurcated switch arms 54 may be stamped froma single sheet as indicated in FIG. 4 wherein the switch arms '54 arestamped from a common sheet 55, thus further reducing the cost ofmanufacture. In other instances, the contact arms 54 will be individualto each key.

From the foregoing it appear that the keyboard and the switches thereforare of extremely simple construction so that the manufacture of theparts and assembly thereof may be done at a very low cost. The fact thata single means, the felt strip 3-2 in conjunction with the felt strip34, is used to mount all the keys avoids the necessity of providingindividual mounting means for the keys. Since the projections 68 on theclamping member 36 are shorter than the width of the keys, they preventlateral movement of the pivoted ends of the keys, although such movementis also prevented by the perforated felt strip 46 surrounding thetubular portions 48.

While various parts of the keyboard have been stated as being made offelt this term is used in its broader sense to include any similarmaterial which has reasonably high elasticity which may be readilydeformed, which will and which is of relatively low cost. Such othermaterials may include a resilient nylon felt, certain forms of rubberand bber substitutes either in homogeneous form or in the form of foamrubber and the like.

In view of the use of felt, or the like, at all the points at which theharder parts of the keys and keyboard would otherwise contact, thekeyboard is, in normal use, substantially noiseless.

While I have shown and described particular embodiments of my invention,it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerousmodifications and variations may be made in the form and constructionthereof, without departing from the more fundamental principles of theinvention. I therefore desire, by the fiollowing claims, to includewithin the scope of my invention all such similar and modified norms ofthe apparatus disclosed, by which substantially the results of theinvention may be obtained by substantially the same or equivalent means.

I claim:

1. A keyboard of the piano type comprising, a supporting member, aplurality of playing keys each having a shank at its pivotal end,felt-like means above and below the shanks, clamping means carried onsaid supporting member and having a portion spaced apart from saidsupporting member, an irregularity on said portion and on said keyshanks with the irregularity on said portion in alignment with theirregularity on one of said key shanks, and a resilient means held underpressure by and between said aligned irregularities W ereby said keysare held against movement along the longitudinal axis of said keys whilepermitting limited pivotal movement of said keys about an axistransverse to said longitudinal axis and passing through said resilientmeans.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which the clamping meanscomprises a member common to a plurality of keys.

3. The combination set forth in claim. 1 in which the supporting meanshas openings therein, and in which the keys have tubular projectionsterminating a piece of felt-like material for the actuation of a part.

4. A keyboard of the piano type comprising, a supporting member, aplurality of playing keys each having a shank at its pivotal end andpositioned above the supporting member, upper and lower felt-likeelements positioned above and below each of the shanks, the lowerfelt-like elements carried by the supporting member, a clamping membersecured to the supporting member and overlying and engaging the upperfelt-like elements, each of the keys and the juxtaposed portions of theclamping member having mating arcuate irregularities to hold the keysagainst lateral and longitudinal movement while permitting limitedpivotal movement thereof.

5. A combination for use in a keyboard, the improvement comprising aplurality of elongate keys each having an end portion with an arcuateformation therein, a supporting member underlying the end portion ofeach of said keys, an arm carried by said supporting member and spacedabove one of said keys, an arcuate projection on said arm having an axisof rotation transverse to the lom gitudinal axis of said keys andadapted to be aligned with said arouate formation in said one key, and aresilient element located between said supporting member and said onekey and between said projection and said arcuate formation underpressure whereby said key is clamped against movement along itslongitudinal axis while permitting pivotal movement about said centralaxis.

6. The combination claimed in claim 5 in which said arm is adapted to beflexed for permitting the longitudinal movement of said one key.

References (Iited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. A KEYBOARD OF THE PIANO TYPE COMPRISING, A SUPPORTING MEMBER, APLURALITY OF PLAYING KEYS EACH HAVING A SHANK AT ITS PIVOTAL END,FELT-LIKE MEANS ABOVE AND BELOW THE SHANKS, CLAMPING MEANS CARRIED ONSAID SUPPORTING MEMBER AND HAVING A PORTION SPACED APART FROM SAIDSUPPORTING MEMBER, AN IRREGUALARITY ON SAID PORTION AND ON SAID KEYSHANKS WITH THE IRREGULARITY ON SAID PORTION IN ALIGNMENT WITH THEIRREGULARITY ON ONE OF SAID KEY SHANKS, AND A RESILIENT MEANS HELD UNDERPRESSURE BY AND BETWEEN SAID ALIGNED IRREGULARITIES WHEREBY SAID KEYSARE HELD AGAINST MOVEMENT ALONG THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID KEYS WHILEPERMITTING LIMITED PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF SAID KEYS ABOUT AN AXISTRANSVERSE TO SAID LONGITUDINAL AXIS AND PASSING THROUGH SAID RESILIENTMEANS.